Goodbye, Bud
by hcsp1
Summary: One-Shot. HTTYD 3 fan ending. Hiccup must make a difficult decision, to let his best friend go in order to protect his villiage. Will he take it? POSSIBLE SPOILERS


**So recently, I joined the HTTYD forum known as "Berk's Grapevine" where people guessed how "How To Train Your Dragon 3" is going to end, as Dean DuBlois said that there will be an explaination to why dragons no longer exist and that it will end with the opening line from the first book. Reading everyone's comments(And even commenting myself, which inspired this little one-shot) made me want to give this idea a shot. And here we are, my fan-ending for "How To Train Your Dragon 3"!**

**Note: I, by any means, have no idea how this movie is going to end. This is just how I imagine the final scene is going to be, from what we know. Any connection to the final movie, whenever it comes out, is completely COINCIDENTAL.**

**I own nothing. Hope you will enjoy, and leave a review if you have something to say!**

It was a long night of discussion inside the great hall on the island of Berk. When the meeting that was held started, there was still day light; now, little candle light was the only thing stopping the group of people in the room from disappearing into the black darkness.

The meeting wasn't very big, containing only the chief of Berk, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III; along with his advisor known as Gobber The Belch, his mother known as Valka and his future wife Astrid. In addition to those 3 people, was also a black dragon with green eyes, watching the meeting as it went along. The dragon answered for the name Toothless, and he wasn't only Hiccup's best friend, but he was also The Alpha, the king of all dragons.

One will think that having your best friend be the king of dragons will be a huge advantage in life, especially when he got the title by protecting his rider, but The Alpha was actually the reason this meeting was taking place. Ever since Toothless was crowned Alpha, as he defeated the last one before him in battle, many dragons from different lands started showing up on Berk to challenge the black dragon.

While Toothless emerged victorious against every challenger, either tiny as a Terrible Terror or enormous as the Red Death itself, the damage caused to Berk with each fight between the challenger and Toothless, alongside his followers, was just too big. Houses were destroyed; certain people died by accident and food and water suppliers were ruined. At the beginning, it was nothing new to the Vikings of Berk, seeing how they fought dragons before. But as the fights became more and more frequent, so were the problems and consequences.

After the last challenger, which was a giant ice-spitting dragon known as a Bewilderbeast, people started to complain to the young chief of Berk. "This can't go on like this, Hiccup." Some said. "We have to find a solution!" Another one voiced his opinion to the chief. "We have to get rid of the dragons!"

When Hiccup first heard that man speak his opinion, he nearly attacked him right there and then. The young chief was sure he will find an answer to the problem presented to him, but get rid of the dragons? His best friend included? Not a chance.

The meeting just went on and on, and even after hours of talking, no solution was found. As much as Hiccup would hate to admit it, it seemed like the right thing to do for keeping his village safe… was letting the dragons go.

Neither one of the presents brought up the idea though, as none of them wanted to get rid of the dragons as well. Valka loved dragons a lot and so did Astrid, and while Gobber didn't love the creatures as much, he was still very tied to them; especially his own.

After what seemed like a dead end, Hiccup spoke up. "I think I have made a decision." He said, causing the 3 to look at him. "You can wait outside; I will come out soon with my solution."

The 3 got up and were about to head out. Gobber gave Hiccup the best nod he could have managed. Valka hugged her son, signaling him that whatever he decided, she will be proud of him. Astrid kissed Hiccup briefly before saying "I believe you made the right choice."

After they headed out, Hiccup stayed in the great hall alone. The only one with him was Toothless, like every time he wanted to be alone. Toothless was always there for Hiccup, there was never a time when he was unneeded or unwanted. Even when something horrible happened that almost ruined their friendship for good, their bound triumphed. None-separate no matter what stood in their way. So, why was Hiccup working on how he is going to tell his people that they are letting the dragons go?

Toothless felt something was wrong with his best friend. He got closer to him, trying to show support when Hiccup quickly turned and hugged Toothless's neck, tears falling from his eyes. Toothless felt the sadness Hiccup was going through, as he let out low purrs that signaled sadness.

"I don't want to let you go, bud!" Hiccup cried as he hugged Toothless more and more. "How can I let the one who saved my life more than once go? How can I let my best friend go?" He asked as the tears kept coming. "How can I let my first friend go?" Hiccup asked again, quietly. It's times like this when he wishes his dad was still alive. He might have found that decision hard as well, but at least it wouldn't be Hiccup who gave the order.

Toothless nudged Hiccup's face, trying to get his rider to look at him. When he managed, he gave him a look that said "It's for the best", as much as Toothless didn't want to separate from his rider as well.

After a few seconds of silence, Hiccup nodded at Toothless, who nodded back. "Thanks for understanding, Toothless." He told the dragon, which gave him his famous toothless grin he was named after. "Don't do that, you will make it harder saying good-bye to you." He giggled at the smile he learned to love years ago.

Eventually, both chief and Alpha made it out of the great hall, all the attention of the village turned towards them. "Attention everyone," Hiccup started. "After a long time of thinking and debating… I have reached a decision as to what to do with the recent dragons' problem." He said before taking a deep breath while Toothless nudged him for support. "As hard as it might be, we will have to get the dragons off of Berk." Mumbles started to be heard throughout the villagers as Hiccup continued. "All the dragons will be commanded by Toothless to take flight tomorrow morning. You can all have the rest of the day off from your work; spend time with your dragons and everything. I know this is hard, but it was brought to my intention" He looked at Toothless for a second. "that this may be for the best."

There was no reaction to the announcement. Everyone just headed to spend the last few hours with their dragons as Hiccup headed towards the smithy were dragon saddles were being made, Toothless following him.

Hiccup knew that if Toothless is leaving tomorrow, he will need to re-build his free tail. Toothless had a missing tailfin that prevented him from flying by himself. He lost it when Hiccup shot him down during a dragon raid around 7 years earlier, which is why Hiccup built him a new fin that he controlled. One year, Hiccup built Toothless a tail that allowed him to fly without Hiccup, but the dragon broke it because he wanted Hiccup to control his tail. This time though, there was no excuse, he needed that tail.

Hiccup quickly got to work. Since he somewhat remembered the process from last time, the process of building the tail took less time than the first. After about an hour or 2 of working, the tail was done.

"Here you go, bud." Hiccup showed Toothless the tail. "There are no returns this time, sadly." He said with a bittersweet smile, which caused Toothless to let out a low growl, the sadness of the situation hitting the Night Fury. Hiccup saw this and put the tail aside. "But you know, we do have time until morning so… do you want to go for one more ride? Just you and me, like the good days?"

Toothless smiled and jumped around, obviously liking the idea Hiccup brought up. Hiccup couldn't help but smile at his dragon as he climbed up unto the saddle, put his peg leg inside the mechanism that operated the tail and hooked all the safety wires. "Let's go, bud." Hiccup said before Toothless leapt into the sky.

This seemed like the longest flight they ever took. They flew above the cove where the first met; they passed by the cliffs where they first practiced their flight and they were headed towards a few tiny islands they came across during their adventures.

Eventually, Hiccup urged Toothless higher until he thought they were at a good enough height. "Okay, Toothless, are you ready?" He asked his dragon as he was changing Toothless's tail fin into glide mode and removed his safety lines.

Hiccup jumped off of Toothless and both chief and dragon free-fallen towards the water below. Both looked at each other during the fall, smiling at one another like always. Eventually, Hiccup opened up his gliders and glided along-side Toothless for a bit until he landed back on the dragon's back.

They just continued to fly like that for another few minutes, or even an hour, they didn't know and they didn't care. The only thing they did know, was that it was about to end. The great felling of flying and freedom, as well as the many tricks and adventures were coming to an end once they set foot back on Berk. Hiccup didn't let it bother him though, as these flights were always stress killers and he wasn't going to be stressed during their final flight.

Eventually though, nothing could stop the inevitable. The next morning's sun came up and with it, the time for the dragons to leave.

Hiccup woke up that morning to see Toothless wasn't by his bed side. He was probably waiting at the cliff near the shores of Berk. The chief quickly got up and walked out of his home. When he saw his mother wasn't inside the house, he figured she was probably out with everyone. Hiccup started to fear he might have missed the dragons, but he knew Toothless won't leave without seeing him one more time.

As Hiccup walked through his destination, he noticed some of his friends saying goodbye to their dragons.

He saw Gobber getting crushed under his dragon, Grump, in a failed attempt at a hug. He saw Snotlout trying to act like he isn't sad, but one nudge from his dragon, Hookfang, caused him to lunch forward and hugs his dragon with a few tears falling. He also noticed the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut saying their good-byes to their 2 headed dragons, Barf and Belch; as well as Eret and Skullcrasher, the dragon that once belonged to Hiccup's father, bidding farewell. Hiccup then noticed Fishlegs hugging his dragon, Meatlug, with all of his strength while the dragon returned the affection through licking. The sight of Astrid and Stormfly has also caught Hiccup's eyes, which caused him a bit of sadness as outside of Toothless, Stormfly was the dragon he connected with the most. Hiccup also noticed his mother passing by all the dragons she protected, wishing good things to all of them before she reached a large 4 winged dragon called "Cloud-Jumper". While Valka loved all the dragons, Cloud-Jumper was the one she liked the most, as he was the one who proved her that dragons were no harmful beasts, but wonderful creatures.

"Thank you, Cloud-Jumper." She told the dragon. "For proving everything I believed in." The dragon proceeded to hug her in his wings, causing Hiccup to chuckle for a bit as he continued on his way.

At the edge of said cliff, sitting in the most royal way he could pull off, was the dragon Hiccup looked for the most. As far as everyone knew, there were no other Night Fury's except for Toothless, making his black shape sitting in front of the rising sun unmistakable.

Hiccup reached his beloved dragon, the new tailfin in his hands. He looked into Toothless's eyes, where he saw his own reflection. But no longer just as 2 similar souls, but also as leaders who protected their own; their own followers, families, or best friend's life. The both nodded at each other before Hiccup attached the new fin into its place. With a quick flick of his tail, Toothless opened the fin, now free to fly on his own again.

Toothless turned towards Hiccup, who put his hands around the dragon's neck. Toothless purred like usual, sensing his best friend one last time. As Hiccup pulled away, Toothless started licking his face a few times, earning a small giggle from the chief. "For once, I'm glad that doesn't wash out." Hiccup commented as Toothless made noises that sounded like laughter.

Hiccup put his hand on Toothless's nose. "Thanks for everything, Toothless. For making me believe peace was possible, for helping me find my mother, for protecting me from any danger… and for being my first and best friend." Toothless raised one of his paws to lightly punch Hiccup on the shoulder, as if to say "Same to you". Hiccup took a deep breath as he petted the dragon's nose. "Goodbye, bud." He eventually said.

The time has come. Once Hiccup nodded at him and backed away, Toothless let out a roar that signaled all the dragons to take flight and follow him. Once every dragon was in the air, Toothless started to fly away from the island with all the dragons following after him.

Hiccup stood where he was, at the edge of the cliff, watching all the dragons fly off into the sunrise. Shortly after, he could sense Valka's hand on his shoulder, but he didn't turn his head around to face her, instead, focusing on the many flying shapes at the sky.

As all the Vikings gathered around Hiccup to watch the dragons fly away, it seemed one dragon was starting to head back a bit. When it got closer, it was revealed to be Toothless, who gave Hiccup the famous toothless grin he was known for. Hiccup smiled at his friend, while feeling the tears sliding down his cheeks.

After that, Toothless flew away again, taking his place in front of the dragons as the lead. The Vikings just stood there watching, until the dragons will completely disappear from eye-sight.

_This is Berk. Small, deserted and has a very bad weather problem._

Some people were starting to get over their parting from their dragons, as the tears stopped coming and were wiped away.

_The legends that were told of it are grand and intense, the actual events that these legends were based on, are even more so._

Hiccup finally turned his head around to look at his mother, who nodded at him. On his other side, came Astrid, who kissed him on deciding what was good for Berk, and not just him.

_There were indeed great chiefs, and all Berkians are heroes in their own way._

The rest of Hiccup's friends came from behind him to show support, as they had him to thank for the great years they had with their dragons.

_While I can't confirm that all the legends and stories were true, I can confirm 1 thing._

Hiccup turned towards the sun one more time, noticing that the dragons were now completely gone and no longer visible. A small smile appeared on his face, knowing that Toothless is going to lead them well.

_When I was a boy, there were…_

Toothless was cutting through the high sky, all of the dragons following him as they flew towards the rising sun.

_Dragons._

THE END 

**I don't know about you, but I felt so sad while writing this. Hope I managed to transfer this to you.**

**I really enjoyed coming up with Hiccup's monologe, I will say that.**

**Hope you enjoyed this. Please review if you have something to say!**


End file.
